


H-bond

by root_is_alive



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Comfort, F/F, Root is Alive, post-Episode: s05e13 Return 0
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-19 00:37:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9409775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/root_is_alive/pseuds/root_is_alive
Summary: NYC is covered in snow. It's freezing. Shaw decides to visit Root while walking Bear. Shaw takes a bath after cleaning Bear. Everyone is quite happy.





	

**Author's Note:**

> It was snowing and I was taking a walk at night when the idea came to my mind. I wanted to explore Shaw's personality a bit, there are some references to her childhood and her time of captivity in Johannesburg. 
> 
> Attention: there is a part that could be triggering for people with eating disorders, even though there is no explicit mentioning.

It is...

quiet.

A fake calmness that only snow can create.

It scrunches under Shaw's boots, breaking the silence. They leave temporary imprints, along with Bear's paws.  
Shaw walks fast.  
Still, she feels cold.  
It is a cold coming from the inside. She huffs to dispel the feeling. Her breath escapes like haze.  
In between the rhythmical scrunching, Bear whines softly, catching Shaw's attention.  
"Yeah", she replies. Then she sighs, stops, stands still. Bear halts. He looks at her in anticipation.  
Their breaths build up clouds in the freezing air. "Guess you want to say hello, buddy?", Shaw says while petting Bear's neck.

Actually, it bothers Shaw. She hadn't intended to stop by at Root's place.  
However... it certainly will be warm inside. And Shaw could definitely use a drink.  
"Hier", she tells Bear, and they march off. He keeps wagging his tail, as if he knows that Shaw just changed her mind.  
Meanwhile, it has begun to snow more. Flakes melt on Shaw’s face, her nose is runny. She snuffles and walks faster.

"Zit", Shaw says, while she fumbles for the keys. They keep slipping out of her gloved fingers. Bear pounds his tail against the ground.  
Finally, Shaw opens the door - Bear darts in, Shaw exclaims: "Bear, los!", before he rips the leash out of her hand.  
"Hier", Shaw commands, and in step, they walk along the corridor.  
Shaw wonders whether Bear is excited to get inside or to see Root. Probably both, and she could not fail to notice that she felt likewise. It used to really annoy her - that Root can cause such emotions in her - but she has gotten used to it now.

For a second, Shaw considers to ring. However, The Machine probably has told Root that she and Bear would be coming, so Shaw only unlocks the door.  
Warmth meets the cold of the hallway.  
“Staan!”, Shaw orders. She removes her hood, her gloves; drops them off at the dresser, hangs her coat at the coat hook, next to the towel there. It's Bear's, and Shaw grabs it while holding him in place between her legs. She notices Root regarding them with cheerful eyes while sprawling on a chair, her laptop in front of her.  
"Af, Bear", Shaw says. He drops to the ground. Shaw squats down in front of him to clean his paws. Then she takes off the leash. He bounces off, right towards Root, who gets up to welcome him.  
“Braaf, Bear, good boy!”  
Root kneels down to hug him.  
Shaw notices that she is wearing the pink bunny slippers Harold had bought her.  
John told her. Shaw was glad she hadn't been around when everyone was overtired. Her patience might have snapped. She might have gone rogue to shoot some of Samaritan's operatives - which wouldn't have been bad, though. However, she also could have sedated everyone. Operating while lacking too much sleep is like being under the influence, anyway. Not the perfect precondition to get The Machine back to life.  
Shaw takes off her boots. She just decided she would stay.  
“Just heard you’d swing by”, Root greets her, still petting Bear. Her face is covered by Bear’s excited movements, but Shaw notices a smile lighten up her voice.  
“Bear wanted to see you”, Shaw tells her while walking past towards the kitchen to get some water.  
“Oh, he loves my hugs. And, apparently, to dry his wet fur on my clothes”, Root informs her. Shaw is chugging a glass of water.  
“Yeah, you’ll reek like wet dog smell”, she tells Root, and puts the glass on the counter. It sounds loud in between Bear's panting and pounding tail and the soft noise the fan of Root's laptop makes. Shaw takes a bowl from the drawer to pour Bear some water, as well.  
“So, are you here to wash Bear in my tub?”  
Shaw ignores Root's hidden agenda, and asks: “Do you think Lionel will come over and bring Bear’s coat?”  
Root answers after two seconds: “Don’t think so, he’s sleeping.”  
Shaw fetches Bear's towel for a second time and puts the bowel on the floor.  
“Hier!”, she calls him. He barks, breaks free from Root, bolts towards her. Shaw grins. Root slowly follows him. She sits down next to Shaw, takes the other end of the towel, and begins to rub Bear’s fur dry. Bear doesn't seem to mind, so Shaw lets Root have the towel.  
“Have you been outside during the last days?", she asks. "Your skin looks like it could use some sunlight.”  
“My skin could use your hands on it”, Root replies. Shaw opens her mouth for an aggressive reply - she is so not in the mood for this. But Root throws a sweet look at her, and it actually works. Shaw just rolls her eyes. After all, it might amuse her a tiny bit.  
“My hands can’t transmit vitamin D”, she informs Root.  
“I’ve left the new numbers to Harper, Logan and Joey", Root switches back to Shaw's question. "In exchange to help Logan with his new project. I felt like programming and he felt like inhaling some frozen drops of water.”  
“I hope you didn’t forget to get up and stretch every few hours", Shaw replies. "Have you eaten?”  
“The Machine reminded me.”  
“I’d kick her ass if she hadn’t.”  
Root grins. She probably knows that Shaw asked The Machine to remind Root of basic human needs when she is buried in brain work.  
Bear nudges Shaw’s leg.  
“Yeah, you smell terrible, buddy.”  
He whines.  
“And you, too”, Shaw informs Root, who began cuddling Bear again. He licks her face.  
“Good boy, Bear", she tells him.  
Her voice is muffled by his fur.  
“Thanks to John, Bear knows what that means”, Shaw says.  
“Yeah, like father, like son. So... I guess I need to change”, Root announces and stands up. Bear regards her with a longing look.  
“Do you need anything?”, Root asks her.  
“A glass of whiskey", Shaw immediately replies. After a few seconds, she adds: "You mind if I use your tub?”  
The cold she has felt earlier still makes her chest feel tight.  
“Not at all.” Root smiles.  
“I’ll lock the bathroom”, Shaw replies. She gets up, pats Bear one last time, goes to the bathroom.  
Actually, she doesn’t bathe often, it takes too long, wastes water. Her own apartment only has got a shower, anyway. 

Shaw draws a bath and undresses. Her trousers are wet from the snow, so she tosses them across the heating. She ties up her hair, sits down in the tub. The warm water washes around her toes. She hugs her knees to keep her body heat.  
Shaw hears Root’s footsteps and Bear’s eager action, then her knocking at the door. Root - she has put on a shirt in her favorite color, purple - puts the glass of whiskey on the floor next to the tub - Shaw regards it with a longing look - while Bear paces around.  
The water has reached Shaw’s legs now.  
“I could light a candle”, Root tells her.  
Shaw throws an irritated look at her. At least she didn’t ask her if she wanted to have a candle lit.  
“You could hand me the whiskey”, she replies.  
“Candles don’t hurt you.” Root passes her the glass.  
“They burn my oxygen.”  
“Well, Bear and I will leave the oxygen for you, then.”  
Root’s voice is playful but soft. It surprises Shaw again and again how easy it is to communicate when it comes to Root. Sometimes, it’s irritating, but it usually doesn’t anger her and never bores her.  
Shaw leans back against the wall of the tub and takes a sip.  
“Maybe next time I’ll let a few candles and you burn some of my oxygen”, she responds. Root probably smiles.  
“Volg, Bear!”, she says.  
Shaw gazes after them. After the door is shut she chugs the whiskey down and lowers her whole body into the water.

The heat has soaked through her skin now, relaxes her muscles. Still, there is a chill in her bones. She shakes her body to get rid of the feeling.  
Shaw immerses her head into the water.  
She opens her eyes to see the bubbles of air emerge to the surface as she slowly exhales. It reminds her of her childhood, when her father taught her how to swim when she was a little kid. Everyone else had been able to hold their breaths way longer than Shaw. The bubbles escaping from her used to seem to be the reason for what set her apart from all the other kids, and angrily she always tried to catch the bubbles. She trained to hold her breath longer and longer, almost drowned in the sea, and learned that the issue was not the air she breathed, nor the capacity of her lungs, but herself as a whole human being. And her being has never truly gotten along with everyone else - she usually has to adapt her behavior, which often annoys or bores her. Seldom, she appreciates someone's company. However, she is good at making friends. But she doesn't want the people to stick around. 

Shaw sits up. She inhales. The only sound is the water dripping from her face and hair into the tub. She breathes calmly, quietly. The candles on the rim of the tub catch her eyes. They breathe oxygen, as well, burn it, just like her body does.  
Harold used to talk about chemistry with her – apparently, she was the only one who knew enough about it, so Harold could nerd out with her. At least after they fought off Vigilance during that terrible high school reunion.  
Shaw turns the tap on again. Steam escapes from the water. She leans back, draws her knees to her chest to not burn her feet, simply sits there, feels the heat approaching. She doesn’t move to turn off the water, just focusses on the warmth.  
Root knocks at the door. Finally, Shaw turns off the tap.  
“Yeah?”, she mutters. Root enters after a few seconds.  
“Sorry, I need to go to the toilette”, she says. Shaw glances at her. "Whatever", she says.  
“Quite hot in here”, Root informs her.  
“Yeah, that’s me.”  
“I didn’t think it’d be anything else.”  
Root flushes the toilette now. Then she washes her hands. Shaw glances at her again. The mirror above the sink is completely fogged.  
“Can you open the window?”, Shaw asks. The fogged mirror stirs an emotion in Shaw's subconsciousness. She can't pin it down, can't even grasp it. It makes her feel uncomfortable.  
“So, I'm using too much of your oxygen, huh?”, Root interrupts Shaw's thoughts.  
“Yeah, you take my breath away, Root”, Shaw answers, still distracted.   
Now the ice cold air hits her, makes her get goose bumps, scratches in her throat. She hears Root huff from shivering. After a few seconds, Root shuts the window. She walks over to the tub and squats down. Shaw frowns at her and rises her eyebrows.  
“Are you good?”, Root asks her.  
Shaw looks away. She tips her head back to think about the question.  
“Mhm”, she answers. Root sits down on the bathroom floor. She puts the whiskey glass aside.  
“I just felt cold, but I’m toasty now”, Shaw tells her. Root smiles and puts her arms on the bathtub rim. She places her head on her arms.  
“Don’t stare at me like I’m a fish in a tank”, Shaw tells her. She bends forward to turn on the hot water again. Then she reclines. She can still feel some coldness inside of her, but she can fight the cold by moving, and Root has moved her a lot.


End file.
